Iran Played Key Role in Houthi Advance 09/23 06:35

   

   CAIRO (AP) -- It took https://apnews.com/hub/houthis less than 48 hours to 
seize Yemen's Red Sea coast from pro-government forces in a resounding blow to 
U.S. interests and Washington's regional allies.

   But the Houthis didn't do it alone. Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisers 
were in the field helping direct the battle, people familiar with the offensive 
told The Associated Press, marking Iran's most direct intervention in favor of 
https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-war-yemen-houthis-military-capabilities-4ca49
1bf0073cc073e04b787ac835807 since Yemen's civil war erupted in 2014.

   The intervention shows how Iran has built the Houthis into a major regional 
partner able to open a new front in https://apnews.com/hub/iran with the U.S. 
The rebels' biggest land grab in years, along with the closure of a 
https://apnews.com/article/saudi-pipeline-oil-iran-war-efa431e2fa771e34880c8453c
62ffb92, strengthened their ability to choke off Saudi Arabia's oil exports, 
pushing up global fuel prices and giving Iran greater leverage. The United 
States has seemed reluctant to help its ally Saudi Arabia, even as the Houthis 
have gained momentum in Yemen's revived civil war.

   The AP spoke to 10 officials and soldiers to assemble an account of the 
Houthi offensive. They included a senior Houthi official, two regional 
officials, a top Yemeni military commander and a member of Yemen's ruling 
presidential council. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal 
decision making.

   The Houthis' swift, 115-kilometer (75-mile) assault exploited divisions 
among forces allied with Yemen's Saudi-backed, internationally recognized 
government. The Houthis penetrated the internal communications of one of the 
main forces, the National Resistance, allowing them to track its movements and 
sow confusion.

   As pro-government forces beat a frantic retreat, the leader of the National 
Resistance fled to Saudi Arabia. The key port city of Mokha was abandoned as 
residents left in the night, allowing the Houthis to roll in unopposed on Sept. 
10. Their seizure of 
https://apnews.com/article/mideast-iran-yemen-houthis-israel-saudi-oil-b95a5a6c7
3a26bbbb1caddcbf365ca62 nearby further enhanced their ability to attack Saudi 
oil shipments in the Red Sea.

   Iran had been building up the Houthis' capabilities 

   The Houthis had not conducted a major campaign along the coast since 2017, 
when government forces drove them out of the area. Since then, the Houthis had 
focused on trying to capture 
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-middle-east-yemen-business-43b7b4be00b33a7c
2539d99a4f8a0e89 in central Yemen.

   A truce took hold in 2022. The following year, the Houthis began 
https://apnews.com/article/red-sea-yemen-houthis-attack-ships-f67d941c260528ac40
315ecab4c34ca3 over the war in Gaza, attacks that continued until a punishing 
U.S. bombing campaign in 2025. After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in 
February, the Houthis largely kept to the sidelines.

   Last year, Iran began providing the Houthis with stepped-up training and 
logistical support on more advanced missiles, drones and uncrewed attack boats, 
said Mzahem Alsaloum, a security analyst who has followed Iranian-backed groups 
for nearly a decade and now runs a private intelligence firm.

   In July, the Houthis 
https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-airport-saudi-strikes-7bddae3006304df8b
f7f89e980006b33 after accusing it of striking the airport in the rebel-held 
capital, Sanaa. That strike appears to have been aimed at halting a flight from 
Tehran.

   Alsaloum and the senior Houthi official said the Iranian flight, which later 
landed, brought Revolutionary Guard advisers, who joined other advisers from 
the Guard -- and Iran's Lebanese ally, Hezbollah -- already based in Yemen.

   Iranian advisers assumed a larger role in the offensive 

   In early August, the Houthis resumed attacks on government forces, focusing 
on the city of Taiz, in the mountains overlooking the coast, and firing 
missiles and drones at Mokha.

   The Houthi official said Iranian advisers had previously focused on 
strategic planning and were not in the field. But in the latest escalation, 
they were "present at all levels," he said, including planning tactical 
maneuvers and working with front-line commanders.

   The two regional officials, who are regularly briefed on the latest 
developments in Yemen, also said Iran provided direct support that helped the 
rapid advance.

   Alsaloum said that in addition to helping in a command role, the Iranian 
advisers analyzed communications and satellite intelligence, capacities the 
Houthis were lacking.

   Iran's U.N. mission did not respond to requests for comment.

   Pro-government forces were divided 

   The National Resistance, with some 30,000 fighters, was the strongest 
pro-government force along the coast. But it had not been involved in major 
fighting since 2017.

   For a month, Houthi forces bombarded its positions with 130 ballistic 
missiles and 145 suicide drones, according to a National Resistance spokesman, 
Maj. Gen. Sadiq Dwaid. He said its fighters were stretched over 170 kilometers 
(100 miles), from Mokha into the mountainous interior, against what he 
estimated were 75,000 Houthi fighters.

   In early September, the Giants Brigade, another militia, came to its aid, 
helping it to temporarily push back the rebels. But the Giants Brigade had not 
coordinated with the National Resistance, angering its field commanders, one 
government official said.

   The two forces had a longtime rivalry rooted in 
https://apnews.com/article/yemen-war-saudi-arabia-uae-separatist-leader-a27d0cae
fece2c5e9c096c57b0bb7d5b between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over 
control of the anti-Houthi movement. That struggle led to the UAE abruptly 
pulling out of Yemen in January.

   There was no "unified command," said the senior military official. "This was 
a priceless opportunity for the Houthis."

   A swift advance led to a panicked retreat 

   On Sept. 9, the Houthis advanced south toward Mokha through a narrow 
mountain valley, heavily bombarding their opponents.

   Having breached their communications, the Houthis were able to listen in and 
exploit divisions, one of the government officials said, adding that National 
Resistance leaders lost contact with several field commanders.

   By the afternoon, the Houthis had seized the mountain road and a nearby 
military base, cutting off government supply lines to Mokha. Lt. Gen. Tariq 
Saleh, the leader of the National Resistance, was forced to flee and then took 
refuge in Saudi Arabia.

   At around 6 p.m. that night, orders went out to National Resistance field 
units to retreat back to Mokha. When thousands of fighters began arriving, the 
forces stationed in the port city thought a major Houthi attack was imminent 
and began to flee, two National Resistance fighters told the AP.

   A Mokha resident, Issa Gubwani, said he saw fighters in military vehicles 
and pickups streaming out of the city. "They left us to face our fate," he 
said. Tens of thousands of residents 
https://apnews.com/article/yemen-displacement-conflict-houthis-5bb1f82555c147514
fc2e8d2d61baf0c.

   The Houthi official said that when the rebels rolled in early on Sept. 10, 
"the city was empty."

   Government forces are trying to regroup 

   The senior government military official said Yemeni forces were stunned that 
Saudi warplanes didn't strike the Houthis as they advanced on Mokha. The Saudi 
government media office did not respond when asked for comment.

   The Houthis seized weapons and military equipment, including armored 
vehicles, rockets, artillery shells and ammunition, most of it from the UAE and 
Saudi Arabia, two government officials said. The rebels displayed some of the 
captured weapons in a televised parade.

   The National Resistance said it lost 500 fighters in the battles; that could 
not be independently confirmed. The Houthis have not announced their losses.

   As government forces work to regroup, supporters of the various militias 
have been trading blame and accusations of treason online. The Houthis are 
meanwhile building defenses around the newly captured territories, according to 
the Houthi official.

   "Losing the West Coast is not the end of the battle; rather, it marks the 
beginning of a fiercer battle," Brig. Gen. Walid Ziyad, a senior National 
Resistance commander, declared on social media.